Simplified Method for Calculating Active Earth Pressure Against Rigid Retaining Walls for Cohesive Backfill

Abstract

The horizontal slice element method for calculating active earth pressure against rigid retaining walls has been extended to the cohesive backfill. The formula of the nonlinear distribution of active earth pressure is derived satisfying the reciprocal theorem of shear stress. According to the Mohr-Coulomb theory, the lateral active earth pressure coefficient can be determined. In order to check the accuracy of the proposed equation; the predictions from the equation are compared with both existing full-scale test results and values from other studies. The comparisons between calculated and measured values show that the proposed equations provide satisfactory results.